Vital epi-fluorescent images of fluorescently tagged cellular comparetments or organelles lack the cellular structural information needed to underst how the labeld component interacts with other cellular components. By contrast, video-enhanced light microscopic images provide this information but convey no detail regarding the composition of cell components. Combining both epi-fluorescence and DIC microscopy, so that both can be conducted on the same living cell nearly simultaneously, would provide the BMIRR with additional important imaging capabilities. It could be used, for example, to study the behavior of asbestos fibers inside living cells, and to determine whether such fibers are enclosed within a lysosomal compartment. We developed a method to achieve this goal that utilizes two different types of cameras ,and special optics that maximize the fluorescence signal and yield the highest quality DIC image. This details of this system, and examples of its capabilities, was published in 1995 in Microscopy and Analysis.